Former Capps aide facing 20 years to life

April 16, 2014

Raymond Morua

A former Lois Capps aide who is accused of causing a deadly collision in Santa Barbara is facing 20 years to life in prison after agreeing to a plea deal with prosecutors. [KSBY]

Raymond Morua, a former district staffer for Capps, pleaded guilty Tuesday to DUI gross vehicular manslaughter in the death of 27-year-old Mallory Dies, a popular Santa Barbara bartender. He also agreed to a count of leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death. In return for his plea, prosecutors dropped a murder charge.

Morua allegedly had a blood alcohol level of .17 after he struck Dies with his vehicle last December. After the collision, Morua fled the scene and crashed his car into a tree.

A judge will sentence the former congressional aide on May 28.

Capps issued a statement Tuesday following the announcement of the plea agreement.

“I am hopeful today’s court developments bring a small sense of peace to the family and friends of Mallory Rae Dies, and my thoughts and prayers remain with them,” Capps said. “I know what it is like to lose a child and no parent should have to experience that.”

The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com. Please address the Policies, events and arguments, not the person. Constructive debate is good; mockery, taunting, and name calling is not. Comment Guidelines

Rambunctious

do not drink and drive… ever.

Vote Up0Vote Down

04/16/2014 6:15 pm

dogeatdog

At least he manned up at the end and plead guilty instead of dragging this on forever.

And he is not putting Dies family through more of an ordeal. May he enjoy ever day in jail and think of what he did wrong and of the woman he killed.

Vote Up0Vote Down

04/16/2014 8:39 am

pasoparent5

Morua was facing a murder charge and a likely jury conviction so his defense attorney probably begged him to accept the plea deal. Sorry but I don’t call that “manning up,” more like desperate to avoid more prison time.

After all, this creep had 2 previous DUI’s; after he killed someone, he should face life behind bars.